Private sector hiring totaled 62,000 in March, better than expected, ADP says [View all]

Source: CNBC

Published Wed, Apr 1 2026 8:15 AM EDT Updated 4 Min Ago


Private sector employment growth was a bit better than expected in March, but health care and construction continued to provide nearly all the momentum, payrolls processing company ADP reported Wednesday.

Job growth totaled 62,000 for the month, down just 4,000 from February’s upwardly revised level but above the Dow Jones consensus for 39,000. ADP’s report does not include government employees. Like February’s report, two sectors essentially provided all the gains.

Education and health services contributed 58,000 — identical to the February total — while construction added 30,000. The health services total was held back in the prior month due to a since-resolved strike at Kaiser Permanente that sidelined more than 30,000 workers in Hawaii and California.

“We’ve seen two consecutive months of pretty steady job growth, but most of it has been in health care,” Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, told CNBC. “That’s really the story. Health care is transforming the labor market.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/01/private-sector-hiring-totaled-62000-in-march-better-than-expected-adp-says.html